The Growing Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility in Mergers and Acquisitions

Mergers and acquisitions are often described as an area where the interests of shareholders have been given priority over those of other stakeholders (Borglund 2006; Tainio et al. 2003; Tainio and Lilja 2003). In these situations companies often rhetorically express the importance of shareholder value and argue that the transaction will bring greater financial value later on. The interests of other stakeholders, such as employees, customers, and local communities, thus tend to be played down, to the advantage of shareholders.